Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act of 2025
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Would require the Office of Management and Budget to collect detailed data from federal agencies on taxpayer-funded projects that are more than five years behind schedule or at least $1 billion over their original cost estimate, and report that information to Congress annually.
The bill aims to increase transparency and congressional oversight of chronically delayed or cost-overrun federal projects — from major defense acquisitions to construction and remediation efforts — by creating a standardized public reporting mechanism.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue guidance directing all covered federal agencies to annually submit detailed information on any project that is more than five years behind its original completion schedule or has spending that exceeds the original cost estimate by at least $1 billion. Covered projects include major acquisitions, major defense acquisition programs, procurements, construction projects, and remediation efforts — but not programs funded through mandatory "direct spending." Required submissions would include project descriptions, contractor names, original and current completion dates, inflation-adjusted cost estimates, explanations for delays or overruns, and details on any bonuses awarded.
OMB would then compile this agency-submitted information into an annual report delivered to Congress and posted publicly on the OMB website. The bill would not itself authorize corrective action or impose penalties on agencies or contractors with troubled projects; it is purely a disclosure and oversight mechanism.
Key provisions
- 1Would require OMB to issue guidance directing covered federal agencies to annually report data on projects more than five years behind schedule or at least $1 billion over the original cost estimate.
- 2Would require agencies to submit project descriptions, locations, contractor names, original and current completion dates, inflation-adjusted cost estimates, explanations for delays or overruns, and bonus payment details.
- 3Would require the OMB Director to submit an annual report to Congress compiling all agency-submitted information, and post it on the OMB website.
- 4Would define 'covered project' to include major acquisitions, defense acquisition programs, procurements, construction, and remediation efforts — excluding programs funded through mandatory direct spending.
Who would be affected
All Executive agencies and independent regulatory agencies that fund major acquisitions, construction, procurement, or remediation projects. Contractors, subcontractors, grant recipients, and subgrantees tied to qualifying over-budget or behind-schedule projects would be named in agency submissions. Congress and the general public would gain access to the consolidated annual report through the OMB website.
Why it matters
Agencies would face a new annual obligation to identify and disclose their worst-performing projects in a standardized format. Contractors and grant recipients working on flagged projects would be publicly named. For Congress, the report would provide a consolidated oversight tool for tracking projects that have consumed far more time or money than originally planned, potentially informing future appropriations decisions.
What would change
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- OMB must issue agency reporting guidance
How implementation would work
Within one year of enactment, OMB's Director must issue guidance establishing the annual agency reporting requirement. Each covered agency would then submit project-level data to OMB on a yearly basis. OMB would aggregate the submissions into a single annual report, transmit it to Congress, and post it on the OMB website. The bill specifies required data elements but leaves the precise format and submission schedule to OMB's implementing guidance. No enforcement mechanism or penalty for non-compliance is specified in the bill text.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 39 - 0.
Official CRS summary
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This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to collect information from federal agencies and report to Congress regarding projects that are behind schedule or have expenditures that have exceeded the original cost estimate.
Specifically, the bill requires OMB to issue guidance directing federal agencies to annually submit specified information to OMB regarding certain federally funded projects that (1) are more than five years behind schedule, or (2) have expenditures that are at least $1 billion more than the original cost estimate for the project.
Among other information, the agencies must submit to OMB
- a description of each project;
- an explanation of any change to the original scope of the project;
- the original and current expected dates for the completion of the project;
- the original and current cost estimates adjusted for inflation;
- an explanation for any delays in completing the project or increases in the cost; and
- the amount of and rationale for any award, incentive fee, or other type of bonus awarded for the project.
The bill also requires OMB to submit an annual report to Congress containing the information submitted by the agencies and post the report on the OMB website.
Legislative subjects
Congressional oversight; Government Operations and Politics; Government information and archives; Public contracts and procurement